Mrs. Winfield S. Hamlin (left), president of the Women’s Pavilion at HemisFair

The President and Principal Executive Officer/Protocol Officer of the group behind the construction of the Woman’s Pavilion was Vivian Johnson Hamlin Terrett, also known as Mrs. Winfield S. Hamlin. Her responsibilities included supervising all the meetings and directing the activities of the staff involved. The purpose of the pavilion was to exhibit the contributions of women to society from all over the world. In January of 1967 Nellie B. Connally sponsored a luncheon at the La Paloma del Rio Restaurant in San Antonio which two hundred women attended to lend their support. Fay Sinkin, the president of the League of Women Voters, hosted the first coffee party benefiting the effort. Membership included up to 12,000 women from all over the world. The Woman’s Pavilion was the only one at the HemisFair built from the contributions of individuals. The architect, Cyrus Wagner, and Margaret Lynn Batts Tobin worked together to design the building. It featured 12,000 square feet of space meant to be used after the HemisFair ended. The building included a recording studio and a wall made of clay tiles with the hand prints of its founders.

After the charter obtained funding, Lady Bird Johnson participated in the dedication of the pavilion. Admission to the Woman’s Pavilion during Hemisfair was $1 for adults and 50¢ for children. Jewelry by Jeweler Irena Brynner, a sculpture called “Madre y Nino” by Bolivian Sculptor Marina Nunez del Prado, and artwork by Magazine Photographer Maria Martel were exhibited at the pavilion. During HemisFair, women volunteers staffed the pavilion.

An aerial view of the model for the Women’s Pavilion circa 1968

After HemisFair ended, the intention was to make the building the home of the Inter-American Institute. The Institute would focus its research on different cultures, hosting seminars and housing a library that would include major works from different cultures. However, after HemisFair, the building reverted to the city of San Antonio and then was deeded to the University of Texas at San Antonio. Eventually, the building fell into disuse and ended up as a storage warehouse for UTSA. The land was finally returned to the city and efforts to restore the building began. The Executive Director of the original project, Sherry Kafka Wagner, is now the President of the Women’s Pavilion board. The Women’s Pavilion board hopes to restore the building for future public events and women-focused exhibits, renamed as the San Antonio Women’s Pavilion at HemisFair Park. Currently, the city is working to revive the Hemisfair Park Area and provide the public with homes, businesses, and cultural spaces in the heart of San Antonio. [Ashton Meade, edited by Joscelynn Garcia]

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